A teenage girl wearing an explosive suicide vest surrendered to police in the Iraqi city of Baqouba rather than detonating the device, according to video pictures released yesterday. The girl, who gave her name as Rania and said she was born in 1993, was shown handcuffed to a metal frame as officers tried to cut away the bomb hidden under layers of floral-decorated robes.

She appeared dazed as officers covered her bare shoulders with a jacket. One policeman suggested she had been drugged before being sent on the mission on Sunday.

The film recorded an officer pulling out a wire before removing the vest. It was reportedly packed with 33lb of explosives in six compartments.

Police said she was fitted with the explosives by female relatives of her husband, whom she married five months ago. An Iraqi police officer claimed the girl’s family was known for supporting al-Qaida in Iraq and that her father had carried out a suicide bombing. She was detained by police.

Women have been used increasingly in suicide attacks in Iraq. The number of female bombers has more than tripled, from eight in 2007 to 29 this year, according to US military officials.